Written by: Danielle Herro, Juan Li, and Allyson Davis
Abstract: This qualitative case study describes how playing Pokémon affected the lives of two adults who self-identify as life-long Pokémon players. Our research provides an understanding of how Pokémon influenced their self-concept and identity and offers insight into why they continue playing. Data collection included questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, follow-up questions and artifacts. Using a priori codes we identified four main themes: early support, socialization, media production and competition and then crystallized the themes to develop case narratives telling our participants’ stories. The case demonstrates that while the players share many commonalities in their early gaming habits, they also had some marked differences in how Pokémon shaped their self-concept and identity in regards to socialization practices and different types of status within the game community, which impacts the reasons they continue to play. Results from this study extend prior research on the value of playing games towards shaping identity.
Keywords: Pokémon gameplay, identity and games, case study, games and socialization